Injured Creamline start Alyssa Valdez. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—For the first time since Creamline and Alyssa Valdez’s partnership in the Premier Volleyball League, the volleyball star will not be able to suit up in the playoffs.
Valdez, who is currently nursing a knee injury, was ruled out by coach Sherwin Meneses for the semifinals after the Cool Smashers’ four-set win over Akari in their last game of the conference’s elimination round.
“We already prepared how to play even without Ly at the beginning of this season because as of now, she still can’t play. Our number one priority is her health,” Meneses said at San Agustin Gymnasium in Iloilo on Tuesday.
“We’ll just continue our preparation every day in training until we all improve. After that, let’s see who we’ll face because there are still games left. We’ll see who’s facing us in the semis.”
Creamline announced last month that Ateneo product underwent a “procedure” for her right knee.
The Cool Smashers’ ace spiker hurt her knee due to an awkward landing in December last year in the middle of the squad’s clash with Chery Tiggo.
As of writing, there is still no timetable for the phenom’s return to the hardcourt.
Creamline Cool Smashers in a PVL game in Iloilo. –PVL PHOTO
Jia De Guzman, who finished with eight points and 22 excellent sets for Creamline on Tuesday, said even without Valdez playing inside the court, she would still be of big help in the semis with her advice from the sidelines.
“Ate Ly will always be there even if she’s not inside the court. She still gives us a lot of valuable input and criticisms that could help our game especially earlier when we lost the third set,” De Guzman said.
“She gave us things we had to fix and it truly helped, it showed inside the court on the fourth set.”
Creamline bounced back in the fourth set after a tight loss in the third, 27-29. The Cool Smashers turned on full throttle to limit the Chargers to only eight points when it mattered most, 25-8.
As it stands, the cast of the PVL’s semifinals is complete but no match-ups have been set yet.